Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1887-06-03
FARM AND GARDEN.
CULTIvATING SPRING GRAIN.

be- done TO II until it is ready 10 harvest.
But the cultivation by the slanting
tooth harrow ther before or after the
grain is up can only improve the crop.
IL is not safe to harrow where grass
seed is sown. as even if it has not
sprouted il may cover the small seed
too deeply
THE SMALLEST PIGS IN A LITTER.
IN every litter OF large numbers there
Will always be one and sonnet times two
weddings. As the only business of a
hog is to make growth and fat, these
poor specimens should be culed out as
soon as possible, and e ther sold. given
away or killed. The time and labor
required to bring these rants up to
their mates might be much better ex-
pended in some other way.
sTREET-CAR HORSES.
The city street-cars use up horses
speedily, as the animals have TO be
driven rapidly over stone or other hard
pavements. Only the toughest and
soundest horses can stand this usage
long. Many horses thrown aside as
useless for street car purposes are COM
parat.vely sound. and may be made to
do good work on the farm, with all the
road travel that most farm horses are
obliged 10 do
REMOVING SUCKERS FROM TREES.
The small shoots around the trunk
of an apple tree should be closely
rruncd, "a also any from the centre of
the trees on the larger limbs. This
growth is the natural result of Winter
pruning tho previous year. and to en-
'ircly check it the pruning may be post
poned until the leaves have started.
THIS with too rapidly growing trees is
often good method TO set them to fruit
bearing.
THE LATE CROP OF CABBAGE.
A hotbcd is not necessary to start
cabbage for the late crop. Make bed
IN some rich ground. get the surface in
fine filth, and SOW the seeds thinly in
rows so that the line may be passed be-
tween them. II is important TO push
growth rapidly. and if the plants are
taken up and reset in the beds they
will DO more stocky and have more
iDrous roots, SO that when finally set
out in the field there will be little or no
check to their growth.
LATE SPRING SHOWS.
snow.torm after few DAYS
of warm weather 10 sometimes called
the poor man ) manure. Its large flakes
undoubtedly are better absorbents of
whatever ammonia may be in the air
than are the smaller particles of rain.
But there is comparatively little am
mona IN the air in early Spring, as it
must have been washed out during the
preceding Winter. Snow on the sur
face Of tho ground is. however, a pro-
lection 10 Whatever grows on it against
freezing while the increasing heat of
Spring days insures permanently warm
Ell weather.
SURPERFLUOUS FENCES.
We arc learning to do with fewer
fences than were once considered ne
cessary, and in some places where
land is high priced and near good mar
kc'. soiling is done away with the pas
lure system, and fences can d, almost
entirely dispensed with. Since so much
farm work is done by machinery and
horse labor, fields have been thrown
together BY removing the fences be-
tween them. This gives more land,
besides greatly conducting to cheapness
OF cultivation. On almost all farms
there is work of this kind to be done.
and 1t should be got out of the way ear
y. before tho busy season begins.
CHARCOAL FOR LAWNS.
The black color of charcoal makes it
valuable as a top-dressing for lawns in
early Spring. 1t has some manurial
properties, all charcoal having some
potash, ard when oil it has also in adj
dtion some ammonia that it has alb
sorbcd from tho air. 1t makes a pref
IT, sight to see bright green leaves of
grass spring up through the black SUR
lace which thin dress nc of charcoal
makes. The dark color absorbs and
retains heat from the direct rays Of the
sun. while later in the season the up
spring!ng grass covers the charcoal.
which then acts as a mulch, keeping
the soil beneath moist and cool.
SAVING SMALL CALVES.
That a COW has a very small calf
may be due TO several causes, influence
Of Is sire, deficient feed nS of the ma
tcrials required to make growth. or
possibly 10 small size in the dam her
self. Hefers while making growth us
rally drop small calves. but many
farmers have found that the calves
from heiiers are often superior mixers
md we'll worth raising. if heifers. I'M
Ill they become cows. 1t might be sug-
gcstcd that the tendency to early milk
productions NAV ho phrod by latino